Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kelly Foulk . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kelly , appreciate you joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I do make a living through my creative work but there’s a bit of a catch…. I don’t make a full living just off of the art I make or the shoes I paint. I went to college and earned a BA in studio art, with a focus on painting and have been making, showing, and selling art since then. Although I have been consistently and actively making and showing my art, I also teach art, which is where my main income has come from for the majority of my adult life. I started teaching art at 23 years old and it’s been a great way to work with other creatives, share what I’ve learned with others, and also allows me the time to keep investing in my own art making and creative pursuits, like Branch+Sparrow. Before I started Branch+Sparrow, I painted shoes for a non-profit called Peaches Neet Feet. During Covid, That non-profit closed their doors and that’s when I decided to pick up the mission and continue to paint shoes for kids with cancer or other serious illnesses and challenges. I started Branch+Sparrow during covid with the intention to make enough money to be able to pay for all the costs of creating the shoes for kids in need. So far, Branch+Sparrow has been really successful. I’ve had amazing community support and been able to create some great connections with different oncology units, nurses, and doctors around the US, so the shoes can get to as many kids as possible. I’ve also had shoe orders from all around the US as well, which have been able to sustain and support all the shoes going out to the kids.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am an artist and teacher, who wants to use my art and skills to communicate, connect, creatively solve problems, and give back to others. My art business is called Branch+Sparrow and was created with the intention of helping lift up and bring joy to others in a time of need. I create custom hand painted, one of a kind shoes and art. Each custom pair of shoes ordered helps to provide a free custom, hand painted pair to a kid battling cancer or with serious health issues. When someone orders a custom pair, they can choose any image or design. I’ve painted family portraits, portraits of sports stars, other sports imagery, cartoon characters, college logos, and a number of other creative ideas. The funds from each pair ordered are what enable me to provide the free pairs for kids battling serious illness. Each kid that gets a free pair also gets to pick exactly what they want on their shoes. The goal of Branch+Sparrow is to lift the spirit of those kids going through something no one should have to go through and to remind them that their illness doesn’t need to define them. I hope each pair brings a little light to the darkness of each kid and every person that orders a pair.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

There are so many great rewards of being an artist. Although I think I was born as a visual learner, being an artist is something that takes dedication and practice. With that practice, I feel like I’m constantly growing and improving as an artist and person. Creating art has helped me develop creative problem solving skills and creative thinking in all areas of my life. It has given me the ability to communicate my experiences through visual means. Some things in life are hard to understand and communicate in words, and art gives me the ability to capture those hard to describe experiences and feelings in a unique and thought provoking way. Having the ability to take all the chaos in my head and turn it into something visually expressive and aesthetically pleasing, can be therapeutic. Art gives me the unique means to take what can’t be so easily explained in words and turn it into something beautiful. Art has also given me an ability and skill that I can use to give back and help make other lives better. There is a quote I read a while back ‘by lifting others, we rise (Ingersoll).’ Art has helped to feel like I can make a difference in this world. My skills in art allow me to participate, connect, lift, and rise. It’s so easy to let life weigh us down. I truly believe that by using my art skills to help lift others, whether it’s through teaching, painting shoes, or creating large oil paintings, I can make a positive difference in this world.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think the main thing society can do to help support artists’, is to buy local hand made art. We live in this huge digital world where we can just click on a web site or advertisement and order an image to hang on the walls of our house. We spend a lot of our time walking through chain stores and big box stores and see mass produced imagery everywhere. I think the best way to support creatives and artists, is to head to small independently owned local shops in our own neighborhoods and buy locally made art and goods there. Another way society can support artists, is to visit and join local art galleries and art museums. Supporting the galleries, museums, and restaurants that support local artists and give them wall space to display work on, is so important in keeping a community creatively thriving. I know there are a lot of restaurants and shops where I live in Oceanside that support local artist by displaying and selling their work. When someone is looking to purchase art, head to those local eateries and places that display and support art, and support those local business’ as well. For my business Branch+Sparrow, all those that have donated and purchased their own custom shoes are the ones supporting the mission to get hand painted shoes to kids battling illness and needing some encouragement. Those orders are the only way I can keep painting shoes for the kids and hopefully bringing a little light and joy to someone in need. I couldn’t keep my mission going without those orders. So when you see a work of art you like or need a unique gift for a friend or family member, think about buying local hand made art or some custom hand painted shoes from Branch+Sparrow!

Contact Info:

• Website: branchsparrow.com
• Instagram: @branch.sparrow
• Facebook: @branch+sparrow
• Other: Tiktok- @branchsparrowshoes

Image Credits
Melyssa Gonzalez Krista King